


Covert Influence

by Rellanka



Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [15]
Category: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: Emotional Manipulation, For conversations only so far but still, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:01:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23815048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rellanka/pseuds/Rellanka
Summary: Every once in awhile, Rufus and Cloud meet to play a game of chess. But there's really more than one game being played in that room.
Relationships: Rufus Shinra/Cloud Strife, Sephiroth/Cloud Strife
Series: A Year Of Cloudy Skies [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1697269
Comments: 13
Kudos: 239





	Covert Influence

**Author's Note:**

> Set in a slight AU of the FF7 (or FF7 Remake) timeline, where the Nibelheim mission took place much later, and so friendships and relationships were given more time to grow. And then, regrettably, fall apart.
> 
> #The Seph/Cloud is past but also potentially future  
> #But not if Rufus has anything to say about it  
> #Who knows who Cloud would end up with from here  
> #not me

Cloud frowned across the chess board at the man sitting opposite him, lazily sprawled out in his chair with a careless, leonine grace as he always was when they had these meetings. Similarly, the other man merely smirked at his dark look as he always did, taking a calm sip of his wine. 

“My, you are in a state today. I don’t think I’ve seen you looking this angry since the beginning of our little chats. Has something happened?” He asked casually, reaching forward with a careless hand to move one of his pieces forward on the board. 

“Only something that ensures that we don’t need to keep meeting like this anymore.” Cloud said abruptly, pausing to take a deep breath in to try to steady his breathing, “Sephiroth… Sephiroth broke up with me.” 

Even now, it was hard to say, even harder to acknowledged as the truth. Cloud had thought he and Sephiroth had a good relationship, despite the difficulties and secrecy. He had allowed himself to fall in love with the older man, loved him still, even though he wished he didn’t. Sephiroth had been growing more and more distant lately, had seemingly had less and less time for Cloud. By the end it hadn’t come as such a surprise, really, when Sephiroth had told Cloud he was done.

Not that that helped Cloud’s heartbreak very much.

Rufus was obviously interested now as he actually sat down his glass to lean forward toward Cloud, eyes attentive and bright as they met his, “Oh? Was the good General finally feeling guilty over how your relationship might affect your career, Cloud?” 

And oh, how Cloud wished that had been it. 

That he could have fought, could have argued against. 

But no, Cloud didn’t think so. 

Cloud knew that-

“He just… grew tired of me.” 

Saying it out loud was more painful than taking a rusty spoon and using it to slowly pry out his still-beating heart. It caused his mind to run in the same circles it had when Sephiroth first told him that he was done with Cloud. Gaia, what had Cloud done? What hadn’t he done? How could he be better, more interesting, a person Sephiroth could consider loving again? How could he change himself into someone that Sephiroth would want to still be with?

But thinking that was only going to lead to Cloud doing something foolish, like begging at Sephiroth’s feet to take him back. 

Cloud hadn’t yet lost _that_ much of his dignity. 

“Hmmm.” Rufus replied, his eyes thoughtful and unreadable as they regarded Cloud. “And to think, our chats began because you were so determined to protect him and your relationship.” His eyes were practically sparkling in the light as he continued softly, “But our agreement wasn’t just that you meet me and we have these chats _while_ you were dating our esteemed General, Cloud. Our agreement was that no one would find out about your relationship with him so long as we have these chats. I think you’ll find that those are two **very** different things.”

Cloud started in his seat, genuinely shocked for a moment at the obvious implications behind what Rufus was saying. His expression soon morphed into an angry glare as he growled, “There is no relationship to tell people about anymore. You can’t use it to hurt him now.”

Rufus’s overly calm expression didn’t change even as he murmured half under his breath, “Him, huh?” He huffed out a laugh and said more clearly, “But is all the evidence of it really gone? Somebody _must_ have seen you be in places you had no right to be, at least once or twice. And everyone knows that you and Sephiroth have always been quite… close.” Rufus paused again to take another drink before continuing almost offhand, “Not to mention any potential videos, of course.”

Rufus quickly amended himself when Cloud let out a wordless sound of rage at the thought that Rufus had _videos_ of his private moments with Sephiroth. (Those moments… they weren’t for the man before him to see.)

“There are no actual videos, of course.” Rufus said in response to Cloud’s rage.

But the sly smile that followed that statement said that what he was saying now was a lie. 

Cloud closed his eyes and placed his hands firmly on the table- grasping it tightly in the hopes that it would stop him from launching himself at the other man and _wrapping his hands around his throat,_ “What do you _want_ from me, Rufus?”

Rufus had been studying Cloud’s hands with a bemused little smile, and he looked up with triumph at Cloud’s question. As if he’d been waiting for Cloud to ask exactly that. “I want our chats to continue. I must admit, at the beginning I never expected to want such a thing; then it was merely curiosity as to how far you would really go for Sephiroth, how loyal you were capable of being. But I have come to enjoy these evenings quite a bit, Cloud. Other than what was necessary to protect Sephiroth, you’ve never bent to me, never let me have my way just because of who I am. You’ve been a breath of fresh air, and one I’ve sorely needed.” Rufus’ expression had been strangely open while he spoke, but now the sly smile made a return, “So I want our chats to continue… **and** I want you to give me permission to court you.”

“….”

Cloud had heard of the expression ‘so surprised you could have knocked him over with a feather’ before, but he’d never experienced it. Not like this. And he’d once had Sephiroth ask him out on a date! Stutteringly, even!

“You want me to allow you to what?!” He practically screamed in a voice much higher pitched than usual, eyeing Rufus as if he was going to transform into a Zolom at any moment, right in front of Cloud. 

“To court you. We would have to have an even greater amount of secrecy than your previous relationship, of course, but history has proven that you are capable of it. More to the point, I genuinely like you, and am attracted to you, and would like to pursue a relationship with you. I’m not monster enough to force you to be in a relationship with me.” Rufus smiled wryly at the surprise on Cloud’s face at that before continuing, “But I am monster enough to force you to at least give me a chance to convince you to consider one.”

Cloud had thought that he’d discovered the height of Rufus’s arrogance and entitlement before, but all of this just really swept him away. 

“I just. Left. My relationship. With Sephiroth.” He grated out pointedly through gritted teeth, “Even if I **was** interested in a relationship with you, I’m not ready for anything like that yet with someone else.”

Infuriatingly, Rufus merely raised an eyebrow at him.

“Of course you’ll need time.” The man said smoothly, “But until you are ready to give me an answer, I do look forward to continuing our chats.” 

It was a pointed reminder, thrown at Cloud’s back as he stormed from the room halfway through Rufus’ reply. Completely done with the Shinra heir and anything else he might want to say. 

He was just lucky that Cloud didn’t have anything in throwing distance to reply to that with.

(But, even with this temporary defiance, Cloud knew that he would be here, in that seat, in this room, as soon as Rufus called.

As he always was.

To protect Sephiroth, he could do nothing else.)

***

Rufus took another victorious sip from his glass as he watched Cloud leave with covetous, fond eyes. For a grown man, his trooper did have his moments where he was just _cute_. The minor tantrum he had just thrown had been one of them. Cloud was such an interesting man, really. Rufus was looking forward to what other sides of Cloud he would get to experience, now that the man was free for the taking. 

He made an inward note to see to it that Tseng got a raise; clearly hinting to Sephiroth that his relationship with a trooper was known and could have disastrous consequences for said trooper’s career had worked out even better than Rufus had dreamed. He imagined that the fact that Cloud was so close to making Soldier had helped force the General’s hand in all this. In seeking to free Cloud from their relationship, and any backlash that might have come from it. Cloud was now truly convinced that Sephiroth didn’t love him anymore, something that Tseng had confirmed to Rufus was flat-out untrue. But that was all Sephiroth’s weakness, and his loss, really. If Sephiroth was foolish enough to let a treasure like Cloud go because of some horror stories whispered in his ears, then he was undeserving of the man in the first place. 

Besides, it wasn’t as if this was the first time Sephiroth had been careless with Cloud; he really should have watched Cloud better when he had him- and not let him go wondering around where lonely heirs could run across him; could fall in love with him.

Could make sure that the trooper was free to be snatched up into a more deserving man’s hands. 

But Sephiroth’s failure was very much Rufus’s gain.

For Rufus would keep a much tighter hold of his treasure than Sephiroth ever had.

**Author's Note:**

> Why do I like Rufus being an asshole-ish, pining mess for Cloud? The world may never know.


End file.
